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'59 Plymouth Suburbans
Author: Kenny J. (Show all albums) These are my '59 Plymouth wagons. I have owned the blue one since February, 1985. Until recently, I drove it frequently, usually three to five times per week. It has an AAJ front disk brake kit, an H.E.I. distributor and radial tires. Colors are 1973 GM medium blue metallic and 1973 GM light blue metallic. I have made no modifications that can't be easily reversed. I have a complete set of Solex glass & a tinted windshield from donor wagons. I plan to install the tinted glass when it receives its next paint job. It's overdue for a repaint (last painted in 1986.) I have included some images of it's 1986 partial disassembly and repainting. It's 1957 230 flat head six is very tired. Hank Dozier is modifying and assembling a 1956 DeSoto 330 V-8 which was to replace the six. but John Fowlie located a suitable, rebuildable 318. So the 330 will be used in the two door wagon. I have acquired some heavier duty torsion bars, an AAJ rear disk brake kit and will be ordering new rear springs, possibly from Eaton. I already possess the necessary perches for installing V-8 engine mounts and have a variety of rear axle ratios and three speed manual transmissions to match to the new powerplant, depending upon whether or not I install overdrive. I have also posted some pix of my '59 Plymouth Suburban two door. It has a 318-stick. This black "beauty" needs some serious help, but should be a fine ride when it's done. There are also some photos of the two "parts donor" cars. They were well picked over by the time I acquired them. They were both dismantled some time ago. I also posted some pix of my non-Forward Look vehicles. During December, 2005, I acquired another four door wagon, a factory overdrive car. Initially, it appeared to be even more solid and much straighter than my blue wagon was when I first acquired that one. It turned out to have more rust issues than the blue one. Plus some lower body damage. I removed the engine , transmission and manual transmission unique parts. I then traded the vehicle to Big M for a 1974 Plymouth Satellite Sebring Sundance. So contact Big M if you are interested....thanks for looking.

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183 Photos - Page : [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]

Glazing is complete on the tailgate. A few years ago, some rust began showing up where the inner metal meets the outer. Sheet metal replacement will be in order.

The driver's side wasn't as bad as the passenger side.

The passenger side was a bigger challenge, particularly the rear quarter.

In addition to the collision damage, the spare tire cover had been lying on the ground from about 1976 until 1985 and was rusted through. John had to patch it up as best as he could. It took me years to find a replacement. I found two. The better of the two was sent to another Forward Look enthusiast as a pattern for a patch panel for my two door wagon. The other is now on the car.

Painted at last! The roof color turned out to be just a few shades off from the wagon's original color. Notice that the two tone application is not in the proper pattern. The upper door frames should have also been the darker blue.

While neither the colors nor the two tone effect were correct, the results still looked pretty darn good!

Considering the damage, this part of the wagon came out quite well. Since then, John has improved his welding techniques and can handle such repairs with less fuss and less body filler.

Now to put the darn thing back together. Finding a replacement harmonic balancer was a real hassle. Over the next few years, I wound up rebuilding the engine, rebuilding the front suspension, had the bumpers and other components rechromed and then had to let the car sit for a while.

Dead storage, 1990. After getting married in early 1989 and then moving from eastern North Las Vegas to the western side of Las Vegas, the car remained on the back burner. It wasn't until the mid 1990s that I finally found a new old stock harmonic balancer and got the car on the road.

I forgot to post this image in sequence. It took four of us to carefully position this freshly painted "hatch cover" into place over the freshly painted cargo hold. We removed all the interior vinyl and simply painted the sheetmetal. All those years here in the desert Southwest had made it brittle beyond belief.

The recently acquired '59 parts wagon leaving for Las Vegas from Roger's place in Burien, Washington.

My '58 parts wagon. This photo was taken by the previous owner (Brandon Frame) before he finished removing the parts he wanted to keep or sell. That included, among other things, the luggage rack, side trim, power steering column and box. But it was worth it for the glass, rear axle and other components.

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183 Photos - Page : [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]

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